Purchase your tickets in advance for our biggest celebration yet... the BIG 1-0! Limited amount of tickets available for general admission and VIP.
Can you believe we are in our double digits!? With over 600 dogs saved, hundreds of events, many many miles driven, fantastic fosters, amazing adopters and out of this world volunteers we have reached this huge milestone.

We hope you will help us celebrate in style at the amazing Chicago Party Animals venue. This place is a lofty, amazing location, fantastic views and the perfect spot for us to celebrate!

Back this year will be our fabulous Auction full of great restaurant gift certificates, concert tix, and more. Watch this space for donations as the list grows! Want to donate for our silent auction? Email lisa@nlolchicago.org

Several months ago, one of our volunteers watched in horror as a van rolled over a dog and drove off. Being the awesome New Leasher that she is, this volunteer acted quickly and brought this stray to our vets for intensive treatment.
We were thrilled when Bo made a seemingly full recovery. Once we got him out of the vet and in to a loving foster home, Bo's personality totally changed. This 9 month old guy is a total goofball, a lover of toys, and a great companion for his human friends. We were so happy to make him officially one of our New Leash on Life dogs.

Throughout Bo's journey from critical condition to adoption event star, we have been committed to providing him with the medical attention that he has required. After his accident, Bo could not put weight on to his front legs. But with vigilant treatment and therapy, Bo seemingly made a full recovery.

As time has passed and his scarred face has healed, we were dismayed to see that while his right leg improved, his left front leg has continually bothered him. With the help of our specialists, we determined that the radial nerve damage is too much for this active and lively pup. Because of this, he continues to injure his injured leg by favoring and overdeveloping the muscles in his other legs. After multiple and lengthy discussions with all parties involved, it was decided that Bo would require amputation of his left leg in order to give him the best quality of life.

Bo's journey will not be made on the traditional four legs. Instead, this guy will be going his own way on three strong and healthy ones. His lack of a limb will be tangible proof that he is a survivor. He is a shining example that anything can happen with the right people, a lot of love, and a whole bunch of determination.

New Leash will be supporting Bo through it all- including the costly medical procedures and therapy . As a 100% volunteer run nonprofit, we ask that you considering donating to our cause. Whether it is good wishes or monetary support, you can help us make Bo's journey to a forever home happen today.

New Leash on Life is committed to rescuing dogs that wouldn't be given another chance. We are known for rescuing elder bulls and medical cases, and Bessie fits the bill. She's a bit older and was waiting for us to grab her from ACC (Animal Care & Control), we couldn't pass that sweet face. Once we got her to our vet we had her thoroughly checked, we found out that Bessie may need some extra medical testing.

We originally just thought she was a big girl, more for everyone to love at a mere 98 pounds. However, we found that her weight trouble wasn't from overfeeding, it may be something more internally. Immediately our Medical Director along with the vet staff at VCA started blood tests to identify what could be troubling our girl. They noticed on external exam that her liver seemed enlarged, they also noticed that she was drinking LOTS of water and gobbling up her food. Because of these signs, we tested her liver for Cushings.

Cushings is hard to identify, many of the signs are also signs of older aging so many owners think that it's just their dog showing signs of age. The signs include: increased water intake, ravenous appetite, pot-bellied appearance, and hair loss. Cushings disease typically effects older dogs but it can appear as early as 5 years old and is mainly in smaller breeds, however, we test our larger dogs as well. Please note: Cushings does not show up in regular blood tests, and has to be specifically tested.

Bessie's liver results came back high, but not high enough for Cushings, it could be an early indicator, so we are treating it as a precautionary.

During testing, we noticed Bessie was developing bruising on her chest, just under the skin. This worried our Medical Director (because of earlier liver testing) and decided to get an ultrasound done, thankfully, nothing showed up on the ultrasound. Bessie also had a raging upper respiratory infection and tested positive for Lyme disease. Lyme disease is something that she is a carrier, however, doesn't necessarily HAVE it. She is currently on antibiotics for all, and we are running a PCR, the test that determines if her Lyme disease is active.

We are happy to report that Bessie's respiratory infection is all cleared up, her water intake has slowed down and she is being checked regularly for her liver levels. This shows that we may think we are taking a healthy dog, and further examination shows a pup that needs a lot of TLC.

While this post may seem sad, Bessie is no worse for the wear and is LOVING her new foster home with foster sister, Ms. M and foster brother, Mr. B of Two Pitties in the City. She is happy-go-lucky and feeling 100% better than when we first got her. We are so happy to have Bessie as a part of the NLOL family and can't wait to find her a forever home!

Bessie is currently on a weight loss diet and has lost 8 pounds! She is being fed Sojo's dehydrated fruits and veggies. For more information on her diet, check out: Bessie's Diet and for more information regarding adoption an elderbull, check out this post here: On the Secrets of Elderbulls.

If you would like to donate towards Bessie's medical needs, please click the link here, and in the note section, mention Bessie!

Little Miss Pancake squeezed her way in with one of our recent trips to ACC (Animal Care & Control). She's a puggle and her little body was covered in chemical burns. We couldn't pass up this sweet pup that needed extra attention to treat her open wounds. Puggles were bred quite rapidly a few years back, but with the decrease in interest in that mix breed, many are abandoned or dropped off at the pound. Pancake has a lost history, not sure if it was by accident, trying to get rid of extra puppies, a bad owner, or misguided people that found her, either way- she came with chemical burns over her back and some on her head. The chemicals had burned their way through her fur and past her skin.

There isn't much information about chemical burns/ how to treat/ dogs. Probably because the large majority of the world would never think to do such a thing to an innocent animal, however, most articles say to wash thoroughly with water to dilute the chemical and see the vet immediately.

We talked with Gordon's forever parents about chemical burns for further help. Gordon came from One Tail at a Time Rescue in Chicago. When he first arrived, he had chemical burns covering the majority of his little pit bull body. He walks with many of our alums and adoptable dogs with Chicago Sociabulls on Sundays. Gordon's parents were incredibly helpful when talking about things they do to help Gordon and some of the tips they have learned.

They use lotion to help with cracking and overall flexibility of the tender skin. Gordon's hair (like Pancake) will not grow back in some places, so the exposed skin needs to be treated just like human skin. It gets dry in the winter and they use Aquaphor on his back. It's a bit of a thicker lotion and can be found almost anywhere, Walgreens, Target, etc. For a lighter lotion, they use Eucerin for sensitive skin. After applying lotions, put a tshirt on the dog to avoid rubbing off on furniture, etc.

Gordon's forever parents use tshirts a lot. This helps with sun exposure as well as making sure he doesn't scratch or rub to vigerously inside his crate. Since his wounds have healed a lot, they use the tshirts less, however, he is in one whenever they are gone while in his crate. They also recommend kids tshirts which are less expensive than dog tshirts and still fit.

During the summer months or when there will be high exposure to the sun, they apply sunscreen. And the vet suggested giving Gordon fish oil pills because they improve the skin/coat.

Pancake will make a full recovery from the burns but her future owners will need to apply sunscreen during the summer and it would be helpful to have a humidifier during the colder months. Just like with a human with exposed sensitive skin, they need to be on the look out for cracks in the skin and bleeding which can be treated with ointment as mentioned above. Pancake also has a bit of a trick knee. The medical term is a luxating patella. It can pop out and may need help putting it back into place. It can require surgery, however, she's not at that stage yet. With careful play, minimal stairs and joint supplements, she may never need surgery.Thanks to Lydia, our Medical Director for input and explanations. Also a big thanks to Gordon's forever parents for all the information and helpful suggestions!

We are so lucky that many of our adopters have stayed active in our rescue and committed to responsible dog ownership and being ambassadors for our breeds. Adoptable and Alums both participated in this Sunday's Chicago Sociabulls walk. Chicago Tribune tagged along to highlight bully breeds behaving well. You can find the article here!

This is Ferris. He is American Pit Bull Terrier and roughly 2 years old. He is easily amused with toys and loves being challenged mentally with stimulating games or exercising. He was a grab from ACC (Animal Care and Control) where he was being held while his previous owners awaited trial. He sat patiently and now we are so pleased to have him out of his cage and in our rescue.

Because Ferris waited patiently for his rescue, he was enrolled in "Chicago Court Case Dogs". These dogs come with a life time free training. They have also already been working with trainers to teach them basic commands. Ferris excelled and we are happy to announce that he has also completed basic obedience classes. He is house trained, crate trained and ready for his forever home.

Ferris has also been quite the socialite. He is working on his socialization and has been attending Sunday walking packs with 20 or more other dogs, hosted by Chicago SociaBulls. He has been doing very well with zero reaction to other humans and dogs.

While Ferris can appear very serious and stoic, he is really just a fun loving guy, ready to kick back with his forever family.

You can find out more information and fill out an application to adopt here.

I'm sure you all remember this heart breaking story. 11 year old JLo was left at our vet's office and abandoned. With the rising vet bills and the family deciding to not return, the office was left with few options. They asked New Leash on Life to take JLo on and get her adopted. It was a tall order. She was older and thus has the 'old dog stigma', she had been in boarding for so long that she became leash reactive, and she had infected paws and ears.

We put the call out- this dog matched what NLOL stands for, taking in the dogs that would have been put down or overlooked because we believe that there is someone for every type of dog. Because we can only take on as many dogs as we have foster homes, we hoped someone would step up to the plate and let this beauty come home with them. And boy did people step up!! We were overwhelmed with the love and concern that was extended to JLo and were so happy that a former adopter opened up their home to foster JLo.

JLo (now Jenny) came with quirks and kinks that needed to be worked out, but overtime, she grew to know her family and fit right in. We are so blessed that Halstead's (Moe) parents decided to officially adopt Jenny after his passing this year.

She is IN LOVE with her new family, the fenced in back yard where she is able to run throughout the day. She came just in time for the Holiday!

When trying to take a picture, she could barely contain her excitement and sit still. But, her paws and ears are looking fabulous, she looks at rest and ease, and her coat is looking so much better!

We always know that our dogs have limited time at Animal Care & Control. We never know how much or little time they may have left, until one of our more recent trips to ACC. Sweet, shy little Noca was being walked into the Euthanasia room as our intake directors walked through the doors. Noca's handlers recognized our directors and asked them to take a look at this sweet girl. They immediately feel in love with her demeanor, her cute looks and her small body.

While Noca is still part puppy, she is a quick learner and is doing great in her foster home. She loves exercise and playing. She is house trained, crate trained and is learning basic commands. She will blossom with some basic obedience classes.

She is quite the social pup, making her rounds at adoption events, walks, and doing great at playing with other dogs. She has been tested with kids- and passed!

In her spare time, she likes to cuddle up around your legs as you can see her here, with her foster brother.

Mr. Cooper came into our family at New Leash on Life. He was originally a shy little mutt and was on the skinny and rough side. He quickly opened up and showed us his personality in his "wookie" barks, and soon he was a favorite of everyone that met him.

He showed us his goofy side on Halloween.

And his soft gentle side when it came to eating doggie ice cream on a hot summer day.

﻿

Cooper was in desperate need for a foster family. The boarding was stressful and Cooper needed some confidence building. One family took him on and soon, he snuggled right in.

We are happy to announce that Cooper's foster family, is now his forever family. With the dedication and patience, we are so blessed to welcome another family into New Leash on Life with the addition of Cooper into their forever home.

We always joke that our fosterdog, little SuperLevi ,was raised by Superheros. And while he is always trying to help us if he thinks we're in distress, and charm the seemingly eternally grumpy Miss M, we realized that little SuperLevi actually needs our help.Quite by chance we discovered that Levi has a congenital eye condition that will effect his vision in the near future. He is not in any pain, and he does not have any vision loss at this time, but left untreated he will lose vision in the future. We were so devastated to hear this, especially as he is so young.But the good news is, there is a corrective surgery that will make him as good as new. The bad part: this surgery will cost about $2,700 (at discount!).But, we know SuperLevi is really depending on us to help find his Super X-Ray Vision. And we have some ideas...

One of Levi's favorite Superhero things to do is go for group walks. And since he's such a great walker, we thought we would have a mini Superhero-themed walk to "Help SuperLevi find his X-Ray Vision". And since we know everyone does the walk just for the T-shirt anyway, we made our own limited edition SuperLevi T-shirts and dog bandannas, based on these photos:

Want to support Levi in his search for his X-Ray vision?Interested in getting a unique, limited-edition shirt, and snazzy bandana, that will help support Levi?If you purchase 2 T-shirts, you will get one raffle ticket!

Here is how you can help: If You Live Outside the Chicago Area:We would love to see you walking with your pooch in your own area in Levi's honor. Just like on New Year's Eve where they check in to all areas of the country, it would be great to see photos of people from all over posting photos on Facebook wearing the T-shirts and bandannas on the day of the local walk and walking in his honor. If you would be interested in buying a shirt: you can make a tax-deductible donation on the New Leash site.-1 Shirt & 1 Bandanna is $33, including shipping within the US.-Extra Bandannas are $15 each.-You can purchase them by making a donation clicking here.https://newleash.ipower.com/chicago/donationform.asp-In the 'description box' make sure to include your preferred T-shirt size.-Please order by Thursday, November 3 to make sure you receive your items in time. We have a limited quantity, and shirts will be available as long as quantities last.

If You Live in the Chicago Area:We will be having a fun renegade,Superhero-themed walk for Levi the weekend of November 12. We would love to have you join Levi, Miss M, and Mr. B to walk to find Levi's X-Ray vision.Check for complete details in a future post, but to 'reserve your spot' and order your T-shirt and bandanna:--1 Shirt & 1 Bandanna is $30, extra Bandannas are $15 each.-You can purchase by making a donation clicking here.-In the 'description box' make sure to include your preferred T-shirt size.-Please order early. Shirts will be available as long as quantities last.--You can pick up your shirt at the walk, or by arranging to pick it up at a NLOL adoption event.

Other Ways to Help:1) Please, please spread the word and share on your Facebook page or blog.2) Any type of donation would be greatly appreciated. Levi's rescue is an all-volunteer rescue so all donations go directly to the pooches. New Leash on Life also seeks to help the under-represented pooches and has been so successful finding many homes for senior dogs, bonded pairs, deaf dogs, and many pit bulls (including Miss M!). They function solely on donations and are dedicated to giving dogs the medical care they need as they search for their future families.3) Check our blog tomorrow as the pooches host a raffle including brand new versions of their favorite things.

Again, thank you in advance for your support. Special thanks to Frances Almeda for creating our amazing T-shirts and bandannas, Aleksandra for the creative ideas, Claudia for jump starting everything, Kelsey for being so inventive and organized, and all the great people at New Leash on Life and SociaBulls for helping pull things together.Please make sure to check our Facebook page for updates!

Many of you have heard about our recent addition to the New Leash on Life family. JLo was abandoned at the vet's office that helps NLOL get their new additions in tip-top shape. She was brought in to be treated for an ear-ache and abandoned. She sat there for two months while her former family was contacted, promised to come back and get her, and then broke that promise. NLOL was asked to get involved and find her a real forever home.

While she was boarding for such a long time, tiny walls couldn't keep JLo's spirit down. She is fit and active and doesnt' act a day over 5 years old, even though she is an elder dog.

The only quirk she developed during those 2 months was that she now shows some dog aggression, when before she had none whatsoever. We suspect it is because she was jealous of other dogs she'd see when out on her potty breaks, was worried and unsure of what was happening, and has so much untapped energy built up. That's a tough situation for any dog to endure! We are hopeful now that she's in a wonderful foster home (with a former NLOL adopter) that this new quirk will work its way back out of her.

While JLo does have a foster home, she is still looking for her forever home. For now, she would be best as the only dog in the home until we learn more about her and see how she bounces back. Could your home be her forever home to live out her days? She is quite active and loves running and playing fetch.

Stats:Breed: Yellow LabAge: 11 yrs oldTemperament: very kind and lovingKids: not testedRider in cars: perfect passengerWalker: fast walkerChallenges: still working out 1 or 2 kinks from being boarded for so long. She developed a challenging intolerance that will need some extra patience and training to help with this new behavior.Special Requests: Needs to be place as only dog situation.

As any true Disney story starts out with heartbreak and sadness, JLo's story ended with a happily ever after. Through the power of networking, JLo's world turn upside down overnight. JLo came to us from the vet's office that treats and fixes our dogs before they find their forever homes. She was abandoned two months ago and became a favorite of all the workers, however, living in a kennel just wasn't the life for this yellow lab. She was starting to get a bit stir crazy after staring at the same four walls day after day. New Leash on Life was asked to take this gal on and find her a foster/forever home. NLOL is only able to take in as many dogs as we have foster homes available, so we put out the plea on Facebook.

Overnight we received countless offerings and felt so blessed to have such a strong community behind us. JLo's is now in her foster with the intent to adopt home, she has a beautiful backyard to run and play and she has awesome former NLOL adopter parents.

JLo was a rockstar in the car, sitting nicely the entire way.

And as soon as she entered the home, she was showered with love and affection. You can barely see her tail in this picture because it was wagging so fast.

﻿And because JLo had been through so much, we thought she deserved a cupcake as a "Welcome Home" treat.

She is one very happy girl. Thank you to everyone who reposted this story and spread the word. NLOL is so blessed to have such an amazing support team and we thank each of you for being able to get this girl into a home so quickly.

This is the unbelievable, rags to riches story about Murphy, the small border collie with a fairytale ending. that might sound a bit dramatic, but Murphy's whole story with New Leash was a bit dramatic. We'll start at the beginning.

One of the hardest jobs for our intake directors is going into ACC and choosing which dogs will be leaving with us that day. Too often, we see dogs who shut down at the shelter. It's loud and overwhelming and even the strongest of pups don't always act like themselves. When we met Murphy, this SUPER shy kid had to be coaxed out of his crate. When we took him outside, it still took him a few hours before he warmed up to the Intake Directors. We knew we were taking on a challenge of a gorgrous pup who needed to be won over, but we were ready. He quickly became a part of our NLOL family.

Every new pup has to wait 7-10 days at our vet's office to get their shots and to ensure they have been throughly checked out before they become available for adoption. During this time frame, one of our volunteers was taking Murphy for a walk when he got a little spooked and backed out of his collar. He looked at the volunteer for a second and then took off running. He was hotly pursued by the volunteer and a couple of good samaritans...but 4 legs are faster than 2. NLOL volunteers swamped the area-hanging posters and asking passerbys if they saw a black and white blur come by their area. We were fortunate that he had on 2 collars: the one he backed out of, and the one with his NLOL tag on it.

We all went home and were so relieved to have received an email from the Chicago Fire Department. It simply stated that NLOL dog 443 (Murphy) had been found in the river, was hanging out at the fire station waiting to be taken to Chicago Animal Care and Control, and we could pick him up there. A good samaritan who was out walking her own dog and orchestrated his rescue wrote us the next day to tell us what happened: Murphy ran almost two miles and was spotted by the good samaritan and another woman jumping the wall behind a bowling alley on Diversey...and into the Chicago River. As he swam, she called 911 and within minutes several police cars, fire trucks and 1 diver appeared. Murphy had found a little ledge to rest on, and a fireman finally got down to the river and pulled a terrified Murphy to safety.

After NLOL got Murphy back, we got an inquiry from a Chicago Fireman about how Murphy was doing. Then that fireman showed up when some NLOL volunteers took sweets to the firehouse as a thank you for saving Murphy. Then that fireman asked if Murphy was available for adoption. And so it was that the fireman who rescued Murphy from the river, introduced his rescuee to his wife, Helen...and then rescued Murphy a second time by officially adopting him a few weeks later. To add to this story, Joel is a young firefighter and Murphy was his first "save". So at NLOL, it just reinforced a few different things. #1-Losing and then finding Murphy reminded us how big and wide our family stretches. #2-That every dog deserves a happy ending.

Murphy's new family had this to say:

"My wife Helen said she knew from the day I came home from the firehousetalking about Murphy that we were going to be welcoming a new familymember into our home. When the alarm sounded for a person in the river,everyone was on high alert. Once on the scene, that person turned out tobe Murphy fighting to stay afloat. Murphy's initially shy and uneasydemeanor only made us want to give him the stability and love that heneeded. Day by day Murphy's timidness has disappeared and his truefun-loving personality is beginning to come through. Helen and I arethrilled that we were able to adopt such a fantastic dog, and the kindnessand support we received from Megan at New Leash on Life really made thewhole process feel right. We love Murphy and we're excited to have him asa part of our family!"

While the dogs become like family- so do the volunteers, Adoption Counselors, Founders and Alum's become family. We spend a lot of time together trying to save and rescue pups, and it's great to get together to catch up on life with some great food and a few drinks. A few weeks ago we met up at the FIZZ in Lincoln Park for a few hours. While there we came in 5th in an inpromtu game of triva and dined on wings and beer. You should come next time- we love getting to know our supporters!

New Leash has been very busy working on saving dogs and finding great homes for them. This summer seemed like it has flown by and many of the dogs we fell so deeply in love with have officially found their forever home. Congrats to:

Cameron

Rosalyn:

Janice:

We are so happy to be a part of these dogs journeys in finding their homes. Thank you adopters for opening your hearts to these lovable four legged animals.